


Apartment 401

by gnomesagetion



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Gen, Impala, John Winchester had issues, John still teaches Sam and Dean how to hunt, Kidnapping, M/M, Mary still dies, Original Characters - Freeform, Photography has a big part in this, There's no hunting though, angel - Freeform, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 13:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7363135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gnomesagetion/pseuds/gnomesagetion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel Novak is a journalist for the Lenoir City Press. He rooms with the best mechanic in Lenoir City - Dean Winchester. The two are good friends but lately they haven’t been seeing much as each other. Dean has been going in and out of their flat at random times and so has Castiel. Each time one catches the other, they are greeted with some excuse. And then there’s all the scratches and bruises they both have to help heal. What are the roommates of 401 hiding?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this was inspired by a promt I found on Tumblr. And well I had to. Because I'm a sucker for Superhero AUs.  
> Avery's orginal name was Naomi but I decided to change the name half way through writing this story so if you read Naomi, it means Avery because I'm sure that I've missed some.

Castiel Novak was tired. Impala had decided to attack the City Hall at 3am. After stopping the villain, Castiel had barely made it back in time to get out of his costume when his roommate, Dean Winchester, had come stumbling into Apartment 401. Dean had been mugged once again. As per usual, the muggers hadn’t taken any of Dean’s but had left Dean with a wide variety of cuts. They spent the next two hours stitching up the gaping holes in his side. By the time the two roommates had finished, it was 7am. There was no time left for Castiel to go back to sleep. Dean, against Castiel’s wishes, had grabbed a muesli bar, a thermos of black coffee and the last piece of pecan pie for his lunch and walked out the apartment’s front door on his way to Singer’s Auto. Castiel just hoped that the owner of Singer’s Auto and Dean’s surrogate father, Bobby, would be able to knock some sense into the green eyed man. Castiel himself had a quick shower to wash off the blood from the fight and from Dean before eating some cereal. Castiel made it to the bus stop in time for the 7:30 one. 

Ten minutes later he was walking through the front doors of Lenoir City Press. He was greeted by his photojournalist partner, Avery Jackson. The young 24 year old female had started at LCP just a few months earlier and had quickly risen through the ranks. The boss, Castiel’s own brother had seen her talent and put her to work with his best Journalist - Castiel. The two had become good friends.  
“Good morning Avery,” Castiel greeted.  
“Hey Cas - and you know not to call me Avery,” Avery returned the greeting “It’s AJ,”  
“You know I’ll never call you that,”  
“I’m going to have to get my name legally changed aren’t I?” Avery said, laughing at Castiel. It was a friendly laugh, one that Castiel had heard millions of times when the two had hung out at the local coffee shop going over their latest story. It was a laugh that Castiel had come to associate with joy and the feeling of fun.  
“Hey you two,” Another young, friendly voice called out “Gabriel wants you in his office pronto,”  
“Good Morning Adam,” Castiel said to Gabriel Novak’s personal assistant. The blond haired man smiled and rushed passed the two journalists, probably on his way to grab a hot chocolate with extra marshmallows for the head honcho of Lenoir City Press. 

As Avery and Castiel headed towards the elevator, they discussed the events of the night.  
“Impala was back at it again,” Avery said “City Hall is two blocks away from my apartment and even I could hear the explosions,” The elevator opened and some of the new interns came out holding messages for those in other parts of the building. Avery and Castiel slipped through. Avery hit the button for the top floor where all the heads departments had their offices.  
“Do you have any ideas as to why Impala might want with City Hall?” Castiel asked.  
“No idea Cas,” Avery sadly replied “But I do have some awesome pictures that I need to go through. I think I managed to get a picture of Angel surrounded by his lightning,” Castiel shallowed. He knew that Avery had an eye for dramatic pictures and that her number one goal at the moment was to get a picture of Lenoir City’s hero surrounded by his lightning. But if she had managed to get the picture there was the very high possibility that she would be able to see behind the mask.  
“Are you listening Castiel?” Avery said. Castiel saw the girl frowning at him.  
“Sorry, just thinking,” He apologised “Please, continue,”  
“As I was saying,” Avery continued “Gabriel probably wants us to cover the story, I emailed him last night letting him know that I had photos of the battle,” The elevator’s doors opened and the two journalists walked out. 

Walking down the hallway to Gabriel’s office, Castiel agreed with Avery. The two of them had become Gabriel’s favourites when it came to Angel and Impala. With Avery being one of the only photojournalists on the Lenoir City Press’s payroll who was able to get a clear image of the two supers and Castiel being the only person to keep his opinions out of the story, it was like Gabriel had no choice. Cas pushed the door with the words ‘Gabriel Novak; Head of Lenoir City Press’. A man, about 5’6”, was sitting at a steel desk, sucking at a lolipop.  
“Good morning Cassie, AJ,” He says without looking up.  
“Hey Gabriel - want us to cover the Angel and Impala story?” Avery quickly asked. Castiel also noticed how… jumpy Avery got when she entered Gabriel’s office. Outside the office, Avery was a kind, generous person whose somewhat optimistic-borderline-realistic attitude was something that made anyone smile. Inside she was closed off and straight to the point. She didn’t care about the big picture, just the then and now. It was if Avery knew something about Gabriel that not even Castiel knew.  
“Of course. I want the story done and sent to me by five,” Gabriel replied “Pictures included,”  
“Do you have any witnesses you want us to talk to?” Castiel asked  
“Well besides the young photographer here, Adam said he saw the fight as well,” Gabriel said “He should be back in three… two… one,” Adam Milligan walked through the door.  
“I got your hot chocolate boss, and a long black for Castiel as well as a hot chocolate for Avery,” He says, handing out the drinks.  
“This has marshmallows right?” Both Gabriel and Avery asked. Avery quickly looked down at her feet. It was as if she was ashamed.  
“I wouldn’t be the best personal assistant and friend in the world if there wasn’t,” Adam said, shocked that they would even ask that question.  
“So how do you want to do this Avery?” Castiel asked. Avery looked at her watch. It read 8:45.  
“It’ll take me half an hour to get to Singer’s Auto in this traffic. Half an hour for my mechanic to actually hand over my car and another half hour to get back here,” Avery spoke out loud “That’s a hour and a half wasted if I go now compared to the two hours I’ll have to take if I go later. I’ll send you the pictures I took last night and you can interview Adam. Meet at the coffee shop at 11?”  
“Yes. That sounds like a good idea,” Castiel agrees “Adam, if Gabriel let's you, we should get to that interview now while the information is fresh in your mind,”  
“Go on Adam - I can live without the best personal assistant in the world for a while,” Gabriel says “By five o’clock Cassie,”  
“Don’t call me that,”  
“I’ll see you all later,” Avery said as she quietly slipped out of the office. Adam and Castiel follow suit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter overlaps with Chapter 3 which is why I'm releasing both today. You'll get why.

Dean Winchester was tired. The plan to destroy City Hall was a bust. Angel, the saviour of Lenoir City had come to save the day again. Dean was surprised that he even made it back to his apartment without collapsing. He was lucky that his roommate, Castiel, was good with a first aid kit. They spent two whole hours fixing Dean up. As far as Castiel knew, Dean had been mugged again on his early morning walks. Dean knew the truth. Angel happened to be right on target with his lightning bolts that night. Dean, not wanting to risk his job anymore, grabbed a muesli bar, a thermos of coffee and the rest of the pie before leaving to go to work. Castiel had absolutely been against Dean going to work. Dean had even considered giving into the blue eyed puppy. He knew that he was going to hurt like hell later on. But everyone had to pay rent and Dean was going to pitch in. Plus, he had promised Naomi that her car would be fixed by today. It was a good idea.

Each apartment had two parks. The parks for Apartment 401 were only occupied by one car. A black 1967 Chevrolet Impala. It had belonged to Dean’s father, John, before he had died. Cas didn’t have a car since his job wasn’t that far and could easily just catch the bus. So the empty park was for whenever Sam, Bobby or any of Cas’s co-workers came over. So in other words; it was rarely used. Careful to not scratch his Baby, Dean got into the driver’s seat, turned on the ignition and drove out of the apartment parking. 

“Morning Bobby,” Dean greeted his surrogate father and boss as he entered The Shed. The Shed was the name of the break room. It had been dubbed The Shed by Bobby’s friend Rufus when he had first seen the garage.  
“We’ve got Avery’s car to fix by 9:30,” Bobby gruffly said “And then we have two new cars. A Nissan Qashqai ST model and a Toyota Hilux from 2015,”  
“I’ve got the Hilux if you take the Qashqai,” Dean said “You know I’m better at fixing utes than fancy hatchbacks,”  
“And yet you still do Avery’s repairs boy,”  
“Well I can make an exception for Avery,” Dean explained, putting his food in the fridge and thermos on the table “She’s a friend and family,” Bobby shook his head the boy who had raised from a young age. Dean left The Shed and headed out to the cars.

Dean was just finishing off with the carburetor when Avery walked into the garage.  
“Heya Dean,” She called out. Sliding out from the blue Suzuki Swift, Dean saw the now young photojournalist smile down at him. Avery held out a hand.  
“I have greece,” Dean said.  
“I can wash my hands - a little greece never did hurt me,” Avery laughed “I see I got here just in enough time for you to finish the paperwork,” Dean put his hand in hers and Avery pulled him up. Both absentmindly wipe their hands on their pants.  
“It was almost as if you planned it that way,”  
“Of course I did. Traffic can be terrible this time of day,” Avery smirked “And we both know that you always work better when you have someone distracting you,”  
“No I don’t,”  
“Your Senior Physics papers say otherwise,” Together the two friends walked towards The Shed to fix up the final bits of paperwork.

“And your car will be due for another service in 12 months,” Dean said, handing over the keys to the Swift “Where you’re heading after this?”  
“Well I promised Cas that I’ll be at our coffee shop at 11 to go over our new story. And I have a few pictures I want to check out last night from Impala’s and Angel’s battle. I think I finally got that photo of Angel and his lighting and I have my fingers crossed that Impala was in the right lighting for me to get him throwing those daggers,” Avery explained “You?”  
“More work,” Dean said “Have a great day,”  
“You too Dean,”

It was knock off time. With the Hilux nearly finished, Dean was proud of his day’s work. He was glad to see Avery again. The owner wouldn’t be back for a few days which gave Dean time to focus on more pressing matters. His phone buzzed in pocket. Dean pulled it out and looked at the notification. 666. Crowley. Dean wished that he had never heard the name or seen the number. But there was nothing he could do about. There was two things that Dean’s father had left him; The Black Chevrolet Impala and a deal with a demon. Reluctantly, Dean opened up the message. It was short and sweet like always. Ring me. Dean decided that the conversation with Crowley would be better had sitting in the impala rather than out in the open. Opening the door, Dean brought the contact details for Crowley up. Slamming the door, he pressed dial.  
“Well isn’t my favourite super villain,” Crowley’s british accent came through the phone “We need to talk about last night’s performance,”  
“I’m sorry but I can’t help it if Angel turns up. And then there was the press,” Dean said, thinking about how he had seen a pajama clad Avery and her roommate Adam Milligan amongst the crowd of City Hall.  
“A reporter can die. They don’t matter in the grand scheme of things Dean,” Crowley scoffed. There was a slight pause between the two.  
“It was that friend of yours. The one who came to live with you and your brother when you younger,” Crowley finally said “Dean, Dean, Dean when will you learn - I can and I will kill any and all distractions that get in your way and mine,”  
“Don’t hurt her - I’ve been careful around her. I’ve even deleted some of her photos off her camera when I know she has these really good ones,” Dean fiercely told Crowley “Please don’t hurt her,” The ugly silence returned.  
“Fail me again Winchester and your little Sammy won’t be the only one getting hurt,” Crowley hung up. Dean chucked his phone to the back seat. He was sick and tired of Crowley holding the life of his little brother over his head. And now he had Avery’s as well.  
“At least he doesn’t have Cas’s or Bobby’s,” Dean muttered “I’ll be able to keep them safer,”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel should have figured it out sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said in the previous chapter, this one over laps with Chapter 2

Castiel had arrived at the local coffee shop early. Adam had been quite easy to weddle out late night thoughts and what actually happened. It helped that Castiel remembered every detail about the fight. As long as there was no opinion from Castiel and Adam and Avery’s recounts were similar to what actually happened, the story would be written. And only two people would know the real truth. Angel and Impala. Castiel and whoever was under the black mask. Castiel often wondered who was under the mask. The way the man fought was with deadly precision. Almost as if he had been trained to do so. But there was some form of reluctance in everything he did. Did Impala have a family? Did Impala have someone in his life worth protecting? What did Impala do for a day job? Who were his friends? Who were his workmates? Did he live with anyone? If he did, how had he managed to keep his identity a secret? Probably the same way Castiel did - lying and entering his residence through the window. Castiel didn’t like lying to his friends and family but when you were given wings there are some things you would want to keep quiet about. And when your brother was the head the biggest newspaper in town, you definitely wanted to keep quiet about it. The waitress brought over his long black coffee. While Castiel was trying to lower his intake of coffee, he had always preferred writing his articles with a good cup of coffee. He thanked the waitress quietly and brought out his laptop. Before leaving the building, Avery had handed him her SD Card with all her photos. She told him that she hadn’t been able to develop them so that he had was just the primary product. Castiel was fine with that. Avery’s photos were always good whether they were edited or not. He inserted the card into his laptop. It took a few seconds to load and soon there was photos. Castiel knew which photos to look at. As he sipped his coffee, he looked at the photos Avery had taken. He nearly choked when he saw the photo of Angel. Avery had been right. She had gotten a perfect shot of him surrounded in lightning. It was amazing even without the touch ups. Castiel zoomed into his face. He sighed a sigh of relief. Not even he could make out the face. It was too dark and editing it wouldn’t likely make it better. Castiel saved the picture to his laptop. He had to. He liked that picture so much. With the near scare over, he continued looking at the photos. 

He was getting towards the end of the photos when Avery walked into the coffee shop. She hailed a waitress and ordered a drink. Castiel knew that she was not one for coffee, so she always ordered a hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. After telling the waitress where she was going to be seated, she came over to Castiel.  
“I see I’m not the only early bird,” Avery laughed, chucking her satchel on the opposite seat. She sat down next to Castiel. She looked over his shoulder at his laptop screen.  
“That’s a really good photo,” She said “If I do say so myself. We should use that,”  
“I agree. And just letting you know that you did get your Angel shot. I have the original file saved on my laptop. I like the raw version at the moment,” Castiel told his partner. The photojournalist was ecstatic.  
“Show me,” She demanded. Castiel clicked on the photo file. A few seconds later the picture showed.  
“It’s just how I imagined it,” Avery was awestruck “It’s going to be even better when I finish touching it up. I think I’m going to get it on a canvas,” Castiel laughed good naturedly at his young friend.  
“How about we start your interview?”  
“Good idea,” Castiel brought out his notepad and phone. He brought up his voice recorder app. Castiel pushed start.  
“Do you wish to remain anonymous?” He asked straight away  
“I think it would be better that way,” Avery replied honestly.

“So Miss, tell me about what you saw last night,”  
“Well I was up getting a drink of water when I heard the explosion,” Avery said “My apartment is near City Hall and in fact faces it. I saw the fire. I called for my roommate and grabbed my camera. We were down there within minutes. Impala was standing on top of building and Angel was in the sky. I wasn’t allowed that close even with my press pass. As far as I could see was Angel throwing lightning bolts at Impala, Impala getting hit and dissolving into shadows. He would reappear and throw some knives. I know that Angel was hit a few times but Impala had the worse of it. THe fight must have been at least twenty minutes long before Impala disappeared for good. He may be the bad guy here but I still hope he’s alright,”  
“Anything else you’d like to add?” Castiel asked. Avery shook her head.  
“Nope - that’s all I can remember now,” Castiel stop the recording and closed his notepad.  
“Your story and Adam’s are similar. We should be able to make a story from that,” Castiel told his partner “Is it okay if I keep looking at these pictures? I want to have a few more for the article,”  
“Yeah sure - want me to get some photos of the aftermath in daylight?” Castiel nodded.  
“That would be good,”

It had been half an hour since Avery had left the coffee shop. Castiel had written a draft of the story in that time. He would get Avery to read over it when she came back. Now he was looking through the rest of the photos. Absentmindedly, he remembered that they were low on milk. It was Dean’s turn to go shopping so Castiel flipped him a text asking to get milk. Dean didn’t reply.  
“That took longer than I expected,” Castiel heard Avery moan as she sat down next to him. He looked up at Avery.  
“And why would that be?”  
“Well they had corner off a two block radius so that meant to even get into the area I had to prove that I lived in the area. And once I got closer to the hall, I had to give my press ID and licence to three different people before I was able to even get a snap or two,” She complained “It was so annoying,” Castiel laughed.  
“I’ve sent you the draft,” He told her.  
“Well it’s a good thing that I swinged by my apartment to grab my laptop,” Avery said, pulling a purple laptop out of a black laptop bag. She opened it up. She frown at her screen.  
“Damnit,” She muttered   
“What is it?”  
“I forgot that the new Marvel movie is on the movie channel tonight,” Avery replied “Could I come over to your place to watch it?”  
“Can’t you watch it on your TV?”  
“I could but Adam’s watching the NBA tonight,”  
“Which movie is it again?”  
“Captain America: Civil War. You know the one with Team Cap and Team Iron Man,”  
“Who?”  
“You seriously don’t know who they are? It was all over the internet. There was even memes about it when the title was first released,” Avery gasped in shock “Have you even seen the first two movies?” Castiel shook his head. He hadn’t seen any of the movies. He didn’t even know what two movies his partner was talking about.  
“That does it. I’m coming over and we’re going to watch all three movies and your roommate can join us. We’re going to culture you,”  
“Okay, fine. You know where I live,”  
“THat I do. Now shut up - we have this article to finish,”

Castiel was home when Dean came back from work. As per usual, Dean had a quick shower to get rid of the grease and oil from the garage. He had told Castiel that he had the groceries in the Impala so he went to get them. There was milk, two loaves of bread, pie and some of Castiel’s favourite cereal. Apparently Dean had read his texts messages about having a guest as there was a bag of groceries with icing sugar and microwave popcorn. By the time he finished putting everything away, Dean was out of the shower. He looked good wearing his black t-shirt and jeans.  
“So who’s coming over?” Dean asked, running his hands through his wet hair.  
“My partner, Avery,” Castiel replied “Her roommate is watching the NBA so she asked if she could watch Captain America on our TV,”  
“Which one’s on tonight?”  
“Civil War,”  
“Which is what in the series?” Castiel tilted his head, he didn’t know which number it was.  
“You don’t know do you?” Dean laughed “Please tell me that she’s bringing the first two. You won’t get the movie otherwise,”  
“I believe she is,”  
“Good,” Castiel’s phone let out it’s bland beep, signalling a new text message. Castiel grabbed it. The banner showed that it was from Avery and that she was on her way up.  
“Avery will be here shortly,” He informed Dean. Dean grabbed the microwave popcorn bags from the bench. He sorted through the flavours before settling on one. He popped into the small microwave that the roommates owned.  
“Does Avery like beer?” Dean asked “Can’t have a party without some,”  
“I’m don’t know,” Castiel admitted “I’ve never asked anything about her liquor habits,” There was a knocking on the door.  
“Go get it. I’ll wait for the popcorn,” Dean instructed, grabbing a big plastic bowl from under the kitchen counter. Castiel sighed, and walked towards the door. He opened the white apartment door to see his partner standing outside wearing a backpack and holding a box of icing sugar.  
“Hey Cas,” Avery greeted “Can I come in?”  
“Of course,” Castiel told her “We have icing sugar. Dean, my roommate, likes to have it with his popcorn,”  
“See, I didn’t know that. If I had known that I wouldn’t have brought my own,” Avery laughed “Where’s your TV? If we’re going to marathon the first two Captain America movies before we watch the third, we need to start within the next ten minutes. You do not want to miss the start of Civil War,”  
“Hey Cas!” Dean yelled from the kitchen “Stop letting the lady catch a cold - I want to meet this mysterious partner of yours,”  
“I like your roommate already Cas,” Avery smiled. Castiel showed Avery into the kitchen. Dean was pouring the popcorn into the already prepared bowl.  
“Dean this is Avery Jackson but she, for some reason, does seem to prefer being called AJ. Avery this is Dean Winchester,” Dean looked up from his job. Avery and Dean locked eyes.  
“How did I not see this?” Avery bursted out “Of course. I’m such an idiot - Cas is not that much of a popular name. Let alone a nickname,”  
“When you said you had a job working at Lenoir City Press I didn’t think you meant as an actual photojournalist,” Dean said. Cas tilted his head.  
“You two already know each other?”  
“Yeah,” Dean admitted “We kinda grew up together. Bobby is her uncle,”  
“When he says grew up together he means when he was home from college. If anything I spent my teenage years with his brother,” Avery clarified “I was 13 when I moved in with Uncle Bobby, Dean and Sam,”  
“Oh,”  
“Beer?” Dean asked.  
“You know me Dean,” Avery rolled her eyes “Can we talk about how the three of us are such idiots after we watch Captain America. I’ve been dying to watch it,”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean thinks about how he meet Avery when he can't sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought I was dead didn't you? Well Chapter 7 was being a bum to write so I'm just going to upload the remaining three chapters for you as a sorry present.

Avery had left three hours ago. Cas had been asleep for two and a half hours. Dean had heard him fall asleep. Dean wished that he could fall asleep like Cas. But there were so many things running through his mind that he couldn’t. The fact that Avery and Cas knew each other had suddenly made his job of keeping his loved one's safe harder. The fact that none of them had made the connection was even more bizarre. Avery had been in the top of her classes for all of her life. Castiel was one of the smartest guys besides Bobby and Sam that Dean knew. And Dean himself could be considered to be bright. But then again, while Avery and himself were close due to circumstance, he and Bobby’s niece weren’t the same as Dean and Sam or Sam and Avery. The last time the two of them had been in the same place for social reasons was Christmas Day two months ago. There they had both made small talk about sports and how stupid Sam was for eating ‘rabbit food’. Cas on the other hand only mentioned Avery in passing; Normally about how good her photography skills were. Dean just hadn’t made the connections. And it seemed that neither had Castiel Novak and Avery Jackson. Dean rolled over in his bed. Maybe he should have gotten to know Bobby Singer’s niece a little better. If he had then maybe, just maybe, her life wouldn’t be in as much as danger.

 

_ Dean was home from College for the next two weeks. The 19-year old didn’t have much time to get away but with his midterms over and with Winter Break starting the next day, Dean had gotten special permission to go home early. Surprisingly, Dean was allowed. Apparently, his surrogate father had made a call to the college saying that Dean was needed at home as soon as his midterms were over. Dean didn’t mind. What he did mind was the fact that Bobby had literally left him and Sam as soon as Dean pulled up the driveway. Bobby would have explained why he wasn’t there to welcome Dean home. Dean’s 15-year-old brother, Sam, wasn’t much of a help. All Sam had heard was something about the airport. So Dean sat on one of the couches and read his book of cars. _

 

_ It was an hour after Dean had arrived home when Bobby came back. Sam, who had come out of his room, and Dean walked outside. Bobby was pulling a red suitcase out of his truck. And a young girl was getting a bigger grey one beside Bobby. _

_ “Hey Bobby,” Dean said, confused as to why there was a girl with Bobby. _

_ “It’s good to see you boy. I hope there weren't any hassles getting you out,” _

_ “Nah,” Dean told his father figure “Who’s the girl?” Said girl looked up. Dean saw the pain in the girl’s eyes. Something no one should have. _

_ “This is my niece, Avery Jackson. She’s coming to live us,” _

 

_ Avery was settled in within a week. Bobby had explained her situation. Avery’s mother was murdered in front of her; Her father was nowhere in the picture. So it fell to Bobby, as Jane Jackson’s older brother, to care for his niece. Sam quickly took the role of showing Avery around. Dean, on the other hand, stayed back. He had been the same age when he had been given into Bobby’s care after his father had died. He hadn’t wanted anyone barging in on his life until just the right moment. So he was going to wait - if Avery wanted to talk he’d be there. _

 

_ That right moment came one night. Dean was up, doing some homework for college when he saw the young girl sneak down the hallway with a digital camera. Dean smiled. But to make sure Avery was going to be alright, he followed her downstairs. The only detour Dean made was to the fridge. He grabbed a beer. Dean found Avery sitting on the front porch. She was fiddling with her camera settings. _

_ “You should be sleeping,” Dean said. _

_ “Couldn’t sleep,” Avery muttered “Do you have a dim light? I can't seem to find the right setting,” Dean chuckled, turning on the porch light. _

_ “It’s not dim but I hope it works,” Dean told the young teenager “So if you’re not sleeping, what are you doing?” _

_ “My cousin of sorts told me that I should practice my photography skills if I want to become a photojournalist,” Avery explained “It was raining before and I want to take some pictures,” Dean smiled. _

_ “There’s a really good place for photo opportunities further down the road. One of the best views in America if you ask me,” Dean said. Avery smiled back. Someone was talking about her interests and that’s all she wanted. _

_ “I doubt it’s that good. Matamata has some stunning views,” Avery replied. Dean laughed. _

_ “Was Matamata where you grew up?” Avery nodded. _

_ “Lived there for as long as I can remember,” _

_ “That’s why you sound funny then,” _

_ “You sound funny,” Avery said. Dean laughed, opening his beer bottle. _

_ “Avery, I wasn’t in one place long enough as a kid to have an accent,” _

_ “You have an accent Dean. Everyone does. It just that sometimes others are more obvious,” Avery said. Dean heard what Avery said and took a sip of his beer. The two sat in silence for a while. Avery got up and turned off the porch light, proclaiming that it wasn’t working for her. She took a few pictures and stopped. _

_ “Dean?” She asked. _

_ “Yeah?” _

_ “Is it hard? To fit in at the high school? To forget what I’ve seen? To move on?” _

_ “As long as you keep your head down, you should be fine with High School. As for forgetting and moving on? That’s up to you. Everyone is different. I’ve been caught so many times grabbing a beer from the fridge. But it’s how I cope. You’re not like me though so how you forget and move on is up to you,” Dean replied solemnly “I can’t tell you how to survive,” _

_ “Thank you, Dean," The silence return but this time it was more friendly. Silence had created a safe space for two lost souls. _

_ “So how did you end up with Uncle Bobby?” Avery asked out of the blue “I’m confused as to how you ended up here,” _

_ “Well, I was your age when my family and I were in a car crash. Sammy and I scraped away with a few broken bones. Dad, on the other hand, lost his life. Our mum died when I was a toddler. Bobby was a friend of Dad’s and he offered to take us in,” Dean explained “Been here ever since,” _

_ “Cool,” _

_ “Yeah it is,” _

 

Dean rolled over as the memory ended. He still couldn’t sleep. There was only one thing that he could do. Maybe tonight Impala would just have a stroll through the city. Getting out of bed, Dean opened his bedroom window. A cool breeze came through. It was a good night to go scouting. Dean slipped the black suit over his boxer shorts and t-shirt. It was the suit that gave him the un-human like strength, the ability to turn into a shadow and travel through them and to use whatever weapon he needed. While it was good to have those powers, Dean would admit, the suit was an evil thing and did not like it one bit. It was even scarier when he had found himself turning into a midnight black shadow while standing in broad daylight without his suit on. Dean had narrowed down the cause of this to one of two things; The suit was becoming a part of him or wearing the suit had side effects. Slipping the masked hood over his head, Dean exited the apartment building through the window.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awards and Bad Days

When Castiel walked into the headquarters of Lenoir City Press, he wasn’t greeted by his partner. This confused Castiel. Avery had been fine after their movie marathon two days ago and she was at work the day before. He tried calling her but only got her voice message.  
“She won’t pick up today,” Adam said. The blond haired man had turned up practically out of the air.  
“Adam, what do you mean?”  
“She hasn’t told you? I thought she would have told you,” Adam said, surprised “Today is that day,” Castiel frowned. What was so important about today?  
“She should probably tell you what happened,” Adam said “You’ll find her in The Lab,” Castiel nodded.

 

The Lab was the nickname given to the room where the photojournalist came to enhance photos, print them out and even create negatives if they wanted to. When she wasn’t at her desk typing away at whatever story she was working on, Castiel knew that Avery could be found there - enhance any and all photos she had taken. Today it was empty to all but two people. Charlie Bradbury was fixing on of the Macs while Avery had her head down, working. She had her earbuds in and was frowning in concentration. Castiel had never seen Avery work so hard. He walked over to her.  
“Morning Castiel,” Avery muttered, not looking up from her computer. From the get go, Castiel knew something was wrong. Avery had always called him Cas; The only time she called him Castiel was when they had first met.  
“What’s wrong?”  
“The lighting in this picture is making it hard to see Impala. I’m just doing my job,” Avery muttered.  
“I didn’t mean with the picture. I meant what's wrong with you,” Castiel deadpanned.  
“I wasn’t doing my job,” Avery muttered “I was meant to protect her. We only had each other,”  
“And who is her?”  
“My mother. Didn’t Adam tell you?” Avery asked, looking up.  
“Adam said that you should tell me,”  
“It’s been 11 years since I watched my mum die,” Avery said “I just don’t want to think about it okay,”  
“Okay. Is there anything I can do for you?”  
“If you could get me a hot chocolate that would be nice,” Avery replied “But otherwise I just want to be left alone,”  
“I’m here if you wish to talk about it,”  
“I dealt with it a long time ago,” Avery said “Today’s just the day I remember it all,”  
“I’ll get you your hot chocolate now,”  
“Kay,” Avery said, returning to her work. Castiel left The Lab.

As he was heading downstairs, Castiel bumped into Gabriel.  
“Just the little brother I was looking for,” Gabriel smiled. Castiel sighed. Whatever Gabriel wanted from him couldn’t be good.  
“What is it, Gabriel?”  
“Look, I need you and Avery to cover the Photography Awards over in the next town,” Gabriel replied, holding up a white envelope.  
“I thought Balthazar was covering that,” Castiel tilted his head  
“He is but Avery is up for an award,” Gabriel smiled “Her letter was lost in the mail for three weeks and I’ve literally only just got it today,”  
“But the award show is today,” Castiel stated the facts.  
“Exactly,”  
“Today’s not the right day for her,”  
“I know. But I’ve seen the competitors she’s up against and they have nothing against her,” Gabriel said “It might do her good,”  
“How am I supposed to get her along? She literally will not go anywhere from her desk,”  
“Drag her along if you have to,” Gabriel said “Tell her that you’re going to take photos of winners and attendees. Which is half the reason you’re going,”  
“I’ll try. But I can’t promise anything,” Castiel said. Gabriel smiled, handing over the envelope.  
“Here're your press passes for backstage access and the tickets for Avery’s seats,” Gabriel walked off. Castiel sighed. He liked to think that he knew a lot. But the one thing he had problems with was handling females. And Avery was a stubborn one.

After waiting in line for half an hour for Avery’s hot chocolate, Castiel ventured into the lab. Charlie had vacated and a few other photojournalists were working on their own projects. Avery was still hard at work. He walked over to the 24-year-old and handed over the hot chocolate.  
“Gabriel has a job for us,” He told her. Avery looked up from her computer. Castiel could now see the picture she was working on. It was of Impala. From the looks of it, she was nearly finished with the enhancing.  
“What is it?” Avery asked.  
“He wants us to cover the Photography Awards tonight,”  
“Isn’t Balthazar covering that?”  
“Well, Gabriel wants us to take photos. You can’t do that with a video camera,”  
“Well, you could cut the video. But I suppose you can’t,” Avery said.  
“Gabriel’s got us press passes and tickets for a table,” Castiel explained “Wearing a dress would be appropriate,”  
“Fine,” Avery grudgingly agreed “Can you finish enhancing this photo? I have a few things I’ll have to do,”  
“Okay,” Castiel said, “How do I enhance the photo?”  
“Just move the point on the screen over the photo. All you need to do is the face. I’ve set the enhancements for it and...” Avery enlarged the photo “You can easily see what you need to do now,”  
“Thank you,” Avery smiled for the first time that day.  
“No problem. Now I’ll relieve that Hot Chocolate from you now,” Castiel handed his partner her now warm hot chocolate.  
“Just save when you’re done,”  
“Okay,” Avery left The Lab and Castiel sat down at her now vacant seat.

It took Castiel twenty minutes to finish the touch-up Avery had asked him to do. As he went, Castiel noticed that face was getting clearer and was easier to see. The eyes especially. Castiel had seen Impala’s eyes plenty of times through the black hooded mask that covered most of his face. But they had always seemed dark forest green and filled with shame and sorrow. With this photo, Avery had caught what Castiel felt were Impala’s true eyes. They were a bright green and Castiel could see a flicker of hope and the tiniest slice of defiance. They were all Castiel hoped to wake up to in the morning. The green eyes were familiar. Castiel decided to take a minute to think about who they reminded him of. Castiel would have preferred to do this in silence but his extremely mundane ringtone broke it. His phone lit up with a picture of Dean Winchester. As he picked it up, Castiel noticed his roommate’s eyes. Dean had insisted that Castiel takes a photo for all of his contacts so that he didn’t always ask ‘who is this?’ every time he answered the phone. To comply with his roommate’s wishes, Castiel had taken a photo of Dean early one morning after he had stitched him up after he had tripped and fallen down some stairs. Castiel could see the flicker of hope in Dean’s eyes as well as Dean’s natural slice of defiance. They were a bright green which Castiel particularly liked. He answered the phone.  
“Hey, Cas. Do you want anything from the store?” Dean asked straight away.  
“No. Avery and I are doing a last minute coverage of the Photography Awards tonight so don’t expect me home until late,” Castiel told the green eyed man on the other end of the line.  
“Doesn’t… Balthazar… cover that sort of thing?” Dean asked, not completely sure on the name of the Head of Media was.  
“Yes, he does. But Avery is one of the nominees and we’re surprising her with it so we had to get her there somehow,” Castiel explained “I suggest watching the stream on our website,”  
“Okay. I’ll see you in the morning then,”  
“Of course,” Castiel pulled the phone away from his ear. The photo of Dean appeared once more. It was then, looking into Dean’s eyes, that Castiel realised that the Impala’s eyes reminded him of the green orbs belonging to the mechanic living in Apartment 401. Castiel was living with his “arch-nemesis”.

Castiel and Avery arrived at the Redlin Art Center in Watertown, almost two hours away from Lenoir City. They had decided against travelling with Balthazar and his crew so instead Avery was driving her Swift to the event. Castiel wore his beige trench coat over his usual black suit and blue tie while Avery had gone home, gotten into a blue shoulder strapped dress which reached her knees and a pair of silver shoes with the tiniest heel. As it was such a big event, Avery had styled her hair so that it seemed to curl and had even applied a small amount of a dark blue eyeshadow to match her dress and Castiel’s tie. Castiel was surprised at Avery’s appearance. He knew that Avery hated heels (she always said that she couldn’t see how other women wore them and that wearing heels herself was pointless as she was already tall enough) and make-up (Castiel had heard her “I’ll only wear it for a play” speech hundreds of times) so for her to wear both was amazing. If Castiel was any other man, he would have said that Avery was hot and that her eyeshadow made her golden eyes pop.  
“I can’t wait for this to be over,” Avery muttered, parking her car next to the Lenoir City Press van “My ankles are going to be killing me tomorrow,”  
“It’s one night Avery,” Castiel reassured the young female “And you look fine. Now let's go. Gabriel wouldn’t hesitate to kill us if we didn’t get any pictures,” Avery rolled her eyes as she displayed her Press Parking Pass on the dash. She opened her door and stepped out. At first, Castiel noticed, she was a little uneasy on her heels. Castiel got out of the passenger side and firmly closed the door. Avery did the same. She then proceeded to open her back seat door to retrieve her camera.  
“Do you have the Press Passes and tickets?” She asked, closing the door. Castiel nodded, handing her a Lenoir City Press Lanyard with the Press Pass attached. She accepted it gracefully.

After taking photos of various famous photographers, it was time for Avery and Castiel to head to their tables. Presenting their tickets to the doorman, a waiter showed them to the booked seats and asked if they would like a program and a drink of any sorts. Castiel wanted to see the categories of the awards so he was given a program. Neither journalist wanted a beverage. The waiter left right before the awards presenter entered the stage.

“Ladies and Gentlemen and viewers at home, welcome to the 20th annual Photography Awards. Tonight we are held at the Redlin Arts Center in Watertown South Dakota,” The male said “My name is James Smith and it’s my pleasure to present these awards tonight. Some of these awards include Best Picture of the Year, Best Breakthrough Photographer of the Year and Best Wildlife Photo. For those with a program of tonight ceremony, you will see that we’ll start with the photographer awards,” Castiel checked his program while Avery looked over at Castiel’s. James Smith had gotten it right. No blunder like Miss Universe just yet.  
“As myself and the committee were deciding the order for tonight's show, we came up with the idea of having Best Breakthrough Photographer of the Year first. Just to give the newbies a taste of what’s to come before they head home for bedtime,” That earned some laughter from those gathered “Tonight our nominees include Alex Jones, a photographer with her own business,” A brown haired female appeared on the screen behind James “Garth Fitzgerald the Third from the New York City Times,” A scraggly man replaced Alex Jones.  
“I went to college with him,” Avery whispered “He’s really good. Top of our class,”  
“And our final nominee is Avery Jackson - Lenoir City Press’s very own upcoming photojournalist,” The picture changed from Garth to Avery. On the screen, you could see Avery’s shock and surprise.  
“Now a little background on the nominees. Alex Jones is from Sioux Falls and is the adopted daughter of the sheriff. She went to Stanford and studied business before opening her small photography shop in the heart of Sioux Falls. In the past year, she has become one of the most sought after photographers in the area. Lately, she has had the privilege of being the photographer at Naomi Campbell’s latest shoot. Our other two nominees were in the same class at Yale University. Garth is originally from Texas while Avery is from, across the Pacific, New Zealand. Garth ended up taking the top spot in their photography class but Avery was first to make her mark in the journalism world. Being paired up with Lenoir City’s finest reporter, Castiel Novak does wonders,” James informed everyone else in the auditorium. The screen had changed to a three way split between the nominees. Alex looked smug. She seemed to think that she would win it. Castiel had been to enough award shows that to know that those type of people rarely won. Garth, on the other hand, looked like an excited puppy. Castiel felt bad. If Gabriel thought that Avery could win it, he was probably right. Garth was going to be very disappointed if he didn’t win the award. Avery had gotten over her initial shock and now wore a neutral expression. A lady walked onto the stage, holding a glass trophy and a white envelope. James accepted both objects. He placed the trophy on the pedestal. Carefully, the presenter opened the envelope. As he pulled the cream white card out of its protective casing, practically everyone in the audience leaned forward in anticipation. The card was pulled clear. The envelope was placed on the pedestal.  
“Tonight’s winner of the Photography Awards Best Breakthrough Photographer is…” James announced “Avery Jackson!”  
“Go, Avery!” Castiel heard the voice of his brother call out. Avery, stunned, got out of her seat and walked towards the stage as people started clapping. Castiel watched as his partner gracefully walked up onto the stage. The screen showed Avery smile brightly as she shook hands with James Smith. The trophy was handed over the press started flashing.

In the end, Avery won another award for Best Photograph. This one wasn’t a surprise to either Castiel nor Avery. As Castiel escorted Avery past the other media mongrels, Avery took the opportunity to ask the question Castiel knew she had been dying to ask all night.  
“You knew didn’t you?”  
“I had an idea. Gabriel told me that you had been nominated but your letter got caught in the mail,” Castiel replied.  
“Thank you for not telling me,”  
“Why would you say that?”  
“It makes today better,”  
“Okay,”

The last time Castiel saw Avery Jackson was when she drove away from the curb after she dropped him at his apartment block.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what. I'm just going to make you suffer for a while. I'll just get on with Chapter 8 now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disaster Strikes

Dean was under a car when Bobby pulled him out.  
“What did you do that for?” Dean angrily asked.  
“Because your phone has been going off all day in The Shed and then that roommate of yours calls me,” Bobby replied  
“What did Cas want?” Dean asked, suddenly very worried.  
“He wanted to know if you’ve seen Avery or Adam. Apparently, neither of them showed up for work this morning,” Bobby replied.  
“Avery’s probably hung over. She went to that awards thing last night,” Dean guessed “You know that those sort of things always ends with beers,”  
“Go check on her then. I don’t want my niece to get a bad rep because she got hung over,” Bobby gruffly told his employee. Dean got off the gurney and sprinted towards The Shed.  
“You could have cleaned up first Idjit!”

Dean heard the police before he saw them. As he rounded the corner to Avery’s apartment, he saw uniforms and yellow tape outside it.  
“What’s going on here?” He asked the police officers.  
“I can’t disclose anything until Miss Jackson and Mr. Milligan’s families have been informed of this,” The police officer replied.  
“I am family,” Dean said “Avery Jackson is like my sister. Her uncle raised both me and my little brother,”  
“Hey Paul,” The officer called to one of his buddies “Got someone here that claims to be Avery Jackson’s family,” A plainclothes detective came over.  
“I’m Detective Paul Wisner and who would you be?” The detective introduced himself.  
“Dean Winchester,”  
“And your relation to the victims?”  
“Avery’s uncle Bobby - Robert - Singer is the guy who took me and my brother Sam, Samuel, Winchester in after our father died. He’s also my employer,” Dean told the detective “I was in college when Avery came to live with us. I’ve known her for 11 years,”  
“Well her records do show that she did have an Uncle Robert. Do you have his number so that I may contact him?”  
“I’ll call him right now,” Dean boldly said, pulling out his phone.  
“Dean?” A familiar gruff voice called out. Dean turned around to see Castiel and a smaller man walked towards him.  
“Cas?” Dean said, “What are you doing here?”  
“Same as you, I’m guessing,” The shorter man said “I’m Gabriel Novak and my younger brother Castiel,” The last remarked was towards the Detective Which Dean had momentarily forgotten about  
“Detective Paul Wisner,” Detective Wisner butted in “You’re Avery Jackson and Adam Milligan’s employer correct?”  
“That I am. Cassie here is AJ’s partner and Adam is my personal assistant. And I can clarify that this is Dean Winchester, AJ’s Uncle’s surrogate son,” Gabriel replied. Dean looked at the short man in shock.  
“Oh don’t be so surprise Dean-o,” Gabriel smirked “I have to do background checks on all my employees,”  
“Well, Mr. Novak…” Detective Wisner was cut off by Gabriel  
“Please call me and my brother by our first names. There’s like 20 Mr. Novak’s in our family,” Gabriel insisted.  
“Well then, Gabriel, Castiel, and Dean,” Detective Wisner began again “Miss Jackson and Mr. Milligan have been missing since last night. Apparently one of their neighbours heard a female’s scream,”  
“Must have been Adam,” Dean joked “Avery does not have a feminine scream,” Everyone glared at Dean. The joke was not appreciated.  
“Sorry,” Dean said “My brother’s better at the serious things,”  
“The neighbour called 911 but neither victims were found in the apartment. There were signs of a struggle,” The detective continued. Dean smiled.  
“Avery did always have a mean right hook,” He muttered.  
“So other than that, there was no signs of anything?” Castiel asked “Surely if this was a kidnapping there would have been signs of forced entry. And they would have had to catch both Avery and Adam off guard. Assuming that Adam was in fact up when the assailants attacked,”  
“Oh, he was up. Probably watched the stream and was waiting for Avery to come home to tackle her to the ground for those awards she won,” Dean said “Meet the kid a few times. He would probably go to hell and back for her,” Detective Wisner blinked.  
“I wasn’t aware that Avery Jackson had any awards,”  
“Of course, she does stupid,” Gabriel voiced “She’s my best photojournalist and she managed to snatch a nomination for two awards at the Photography Awards last night. She blew away the other competitors and obviously won both categories,” Both Castiel and Dean were taken aback.  
“Of course,” Detective Wisner “Do you think that she could have any enemies because of last night?”  
“There might be a little grudge between her and Alex Mills. Alex seemed to think she was going to win an award last night,” Castiel said “But there was no way she could have pulled something off like this with such time,”  
“I’ll look into this lead,”  
“Hey Detective,” Dean spoke up “Is there any way I could go inside the apartment? I’ve been inside and I could possibly see if there was anything was stolen,”  
“In a few hours, you will be. We’re just going over procedure right now,” Detective Wisner told the three men “If you give me your mobile numbers, I’ll contact you when you can go inside. And I’d appreciate it if you could get in contact with any other family members. They deserve to know that they may not be able to see their children anymore,” Castiel, Dean, and Gabriel nodded. Dean handed Detective Wisner his business card and the three men left the apartment block.  
“Thank you, Cas for coming. I know Avery would appreciate this. I can call Bobby. But I don’t know any of Adam’s family,”  
“I can handle that,” Gabriel spoke up “I can contact his mother,”  
“Okay. I’ll let you know if there’s anything more,”  
“Dean,”  
“Yeah, Cas?”  
“I’ll get any groceries tonight,”  
“Thanks, Cas,”

Detective Wisner pulled the yellow police tape up. Dean slipped under it. It had been three hours since Dean’s original visit to Avery and Adam’s apartment. In three hours, the kidnapping had been spread over any and all social media and media outlets. The only media company keeping their heads cool in this situation was Lenoir City Press. Gabriel and Castiel had both made public statements over the dilemma. Lenoir City Press proceeded to continue running as usual and promised to update everyone when news was heard.  
“Any leads Detective?” Dean asked.  
“Not at this moment Mr. Winchester,” Dean and Detective Wisner walked through into what had been Avery and Adam’s lounge. The couch had been tipped over, the TV glass was badly smashed and the table Bobby had given Avery as a housewarming gift was almost beyond repair.  
“Detective?” Dean asked, frowning when he saw no photo frames “Where are the photo frames?”  
“There were no photo frames,” Detective said “The only piece of evidence removed from here was a bowl which had some blood on it,”  
“Well whoever took Avery and Adam also took their photos,” Dean said “Avery had three pictures. One of me, my brother and her, one of her and Adam at the Empire State Building and the third of her and Bobby. Adam had a picture of him and his mum,” Dean looked over to the far wall. Avery had mentioned leaving that space free for her Angel photo if she ever got it. But all he could see was the words in red. Call me Dean - Crowley. If the police had seen this, surely they would have put him in cuffs the moment he introduced himself in the hallway. That meant it was a message that only he could see. Dean put it down to the side effects of wearing his suit.  
“Mr. Winchester. Is everything okay?”  
“Yeah. Just peachy. Any other rooms you want me to look at?”  
“No. This room is the only one with damage. Thank you for coming in Mr. Winchester,”  
“No problem,”

Dean sat in his car. There was no way to tip the police that Avery and Adam had been kidnapped by Crowley - the notorious leader of the Hell Mob. And that he was the reason for the kidnapping. Dean angrily brought out the phone he used to contact Crowley. He called the short British demon.  
“Good. You got my message,” Crowley’s annoying voice came through.  
“So what do you want me to do? Huh. I said I’d do it. You didn’t have to go kidnapping innocent bystanders,”  
“But I do Dean. You see, I know you. You care deeply about your family. And while that moose of your little brother would have been a better candidate to take, what better way to lose your spirit than to kidnap the girl who was on a high,” Crowley explained “Her boyfriend was just a bonus. A very juicy bonus mind you,”  
“Adam’s not her boyfriend,” Dean said “Now let them go. I did what you asked me to do. I did call you,”  
“But Dean, where’s the fun in that?” Crowley sneered “No you have to work for them. You have to find them and blow up City Hall,”  
“Fine. But I’ll track you down and kill you,” Dean spat  
“I’d like to see you try,” Crowley laughed as he hung up. Dean turned the keys in the ignition. The impala roared to life and classic rock music blared from the small radio. He pulled away from the curb. He was going to find Avery and Adam if it was the last thing he did.

It was eight the next morning when Dean turned up in his apartment battered and bruised. Castiel was in the middle of drinking some coffee. He spat his mouthful out when he saw Dean.  
“Dean you have to stop going out in the middle of the night,”  
“I know. I know,” Dean muttered, sitting down on one of the bench stools “You’ve told me a few times already,”  
“You’re lucky that I did that first aid course in college,” Castiel said, putting down his coffee “We both know that I’ve stitched you up more times than you can count,” The black hair, blue eyed man left the kitchen to grab what Dean knew was the first aid kit  
“I can so count!” Dean defended himself.  
“You can’t get past ten thousand without my or Avery’s or Sam’s help,” Castiel deadpanned as he brought the red fabric bag from the bathroom.  
“And I’ve stitched you up too,” Dean said, taking his torn black shirt off “You should be glad that I took that college course with you in the first place,”  
“That is true Dean,” Castiel said, setting the bag down and then opening it “But I just don’t get into fights as often as you do,”  
“Well, this fight was worth it,” Dean said, preparing himself for the stinging pain that came next “I managed to find a little information on Avery and Adam’s whereabouts,” Castiel prepared an alcohol wipe.  
“And what would that information be?”  
“They’re being held in a warehouse,”  
“Dean. There're thousands of warehouses over this city,” Castiel said “Hold on a second. This will hurt a lot,” Dean felt the cotton ball press against the cut on his right shoulder. The alcohol burned. Dean gritted his teeth, not letting himself holler in pain. He was strong and was not going to scream like Avery did that one time after she fell off her bike.  
“I know,” Dean said through the pain “But this guy said that this one is one of those industrial sized ones. You know the ones owned by the government,”  
“I do Dean. But yet again I remind you. There are thousands of warehouses in this city and quite a lot,” Castiel said “You can scream if you want. I’m not going to judge,”  
“I’m not going to scream Cas,” Dean scoffed as Cas lifted the pad off his shoulder.  
“I don’t see why you don’t go to the hospital. They could probably do this a lot better than I could,”  
“Didn’t want to hassle them when they probably have thousands of other patients who need urgent care and we both know that American Health Care is expensive as heck,”  
“Fine. But if you feel an ounce of pain you go straight to a clinic,” Castiel instructed “And now back to the warehouses. Unless you were Angel or Impala I highly doubt that even with a police search team with you, you’d have trouble finding Avery and Adam at any warehouse,”  
“So what am I supposed to do now? Sit here and wait for a kid that I watched grow and her best friend to come home? You and I both know that the stats for finding a kidnapping victim after the first 24 hours is nearly impossible and after a total of 48 it’s practically impossible. I am not going to wait for those 48 hours to roll over,”  
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Dean heard Castiel mutter “Go to work. We can’t do anything. We’re not police officers, we’re not federal agents and we sure as hell aren’t superheroes. We just have to hope,” Dean winced as Castiel applied another cotton ball alcohol wipe on his wound.  
“Fine,” Dean grumbled “Get me a beer,”  
“Tonight we can drink,” Castiel promised, “I think we both don’t want to be fired from our jobs,”  
“But your boss is your brother,”  
“Exactly,” Cas said. Dean could feel the eye-roll.  
“You better buy some whisky then,”  
“It’s your turn to give me the day off,”  
“No, it’s my week to go shopping,”  
“Dean, it’s Sunday. My week of being the grocery shopper starts today,”  
“Fine. I’ll buy the whisky. I thought you didn’t work on a Sunday,”  
“I don’t but Avery was working on a photo and I think it’s my way to cope by continuing to work on it for her,”  
“Okay. What do you want for dinner?”  
“Hamburgers,” Dean laughed  
“I can handle that. You nearly finished?”  
“Yeah,”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Longest Chapter so far. Avery and Adam are still missing and Castiel is going to do something about it.

Castiel and Dean sat around their small table. There was six empty beer bottles, a half full bottle of whisky and two unopened beer bottles.  
“You hold your liquor really well Cas,” Dean slurred. Castiel hiccupped.  
“Better than you Dean-o,”   
“You have really blue eyes,” Dean said “The bluest blue to ever blue,” Dean then proceeded to burst into fits of giggles.   
“You know there's something,” Castiel hiccuped and Dean laughed harder “I never told you,”  
“And what would that be Cassie?” Dean asked  
“Well I’m gay. I like boys,” Castiel drowned half of the leftover whisky “I always have,” Dean snatched the bottle out of Castiel’s hand. Needless to say, Dean drank the rest.

Castiel woke up on the couch fully dressed. Dean was lying on the ground, a beer bottle still in his hand. Castiel ignored his sleeping friend and stumbled to the bathroom. This was where he and Dean kept the first aid kit. Hopefully, he remembered to stock up on pain relief. Or anything that would dull the throbbing pain in his head. Pulling open the cabinet door, Castiel found the bright red bag quite quickly. Stumbling out of the bathroom, Castiel cautiously made his way to the kitchen. Knowing that something like this was going to happen, Castiel had gotten two plastic cups out the night before. Holding the green cup with steady hands, Castiel turned on the kitchen tap and filled it up to the brim. Castiel popped two pills of panadol from their plastic casings. He put one of the pills into his mouth. Taking a sip of water, Castiel shallowed. He then repeated the action with the second pill. With three quarters of the cup full with water, Castiel downed the rest. He placed the cup upside down on the sink bench. He didn’t want to look at the green cup. Castiel knew what he had told Dean. Castiel always remembered what he said or did while under the influence of alcohol. But what Castiel had said was something that could change his and Dean’s friendship drastically. He had kept his sexuality a secret from Dean for eleven years. Castiel always had - he hadn’t even come out of the closet to his family. Although he did suspect that they had already guessed, Gabriel especially. Usually Castiel’s partners were senior male members of LCP. All had been with the paper long before Castiel had started. Castiel, even back then, had been considered as part of the senior member group. Then Avery Jackson became his partner. She was the exact opposite of his other partners - she was new and a female. Castiel suspected that Gabriel had a thing for her so what better way to keep her away from other male companions - give her to your brother who you thought to be gay. Just thinking about it made Castiel want to have another bottle of beer. Taking a deep breath, Castiel pushed aside all thoughts of coming out. He and Dean would talk about him being gay after Dean got over his hangover. To move on, Castiel thought of what he had done yesterday at work. Both Charlie and Kevin Tran, one of the interns, were surprised to see Castiel walk through the doors. Everyone seemed to know that none of the Novaks worked on a Sunday. But the red haired tech support and the intern accepted his story about working on Avery’s story while she was away. Castiel hadn’t worked on anything for Lenoir City Press. What he did was for his own personal needs. After seeing Dean’s eyes behind Impala’s mask, Castiel had to see if Dean really was Impala. So he hacked into the Lenoir City Police Department’s facial recognition software. He uploaded the photo of Dean and the photo of Impala. The software didn't come back positive for a march. But then Castiel realised that the people in both photos weren't in the same position. Up until lunch, Castiel tried 20 photos. Five of them had come back as negative results. Everything was pointing towards Dean being Impala. Dean groaned and Castiel was snapped back into reality. Dean was pulling himself off the floor.  
“Good Morning Dean,” Castiel told the 6’2” man. Dean ran his hand through his messy blond brown hair.   
“Got any cure for a hangover?” Dean asked. Castiel popped another two panadol pills and filled up the blue cup.  
“No but I do have something that can help,” Castiel handed the cup and pills over. Dean did what Castiel had done mere minutes earlier. Dean placed the blue cup upright on the bench.  
“So…” Castiel said uncertainty “What do you remember about last night?”  
“I remember getting really drunk and you telling me that you’re gay,”  
“Yeah,” Castiel agreed “I should have told you sooner. I just didn’t know how’d you react. Even now I don’t know how you’ll react,”  
“Cas. I’m mad that you didn't tell me sooner. But I’m okay with you being gay. I guess that explains why you never wanted to hook up with Hannah,” Dean told Castiel. Castiel was filled with relief.  
“Thank you,” Castiel told his best friend “But I’ll understand if this drives a wedge between us,”  
“Apparently some scientists believe that if you're friends with someone for seven years you’ve got a friend for life,” Dean said “We’ve been been friends almost double that amount. Cas, it will probably be a bit awkward at first - getting used to the fact that my roommate and my best friend is gay - but there’s not going to be any changes between us,”  
“Okay,” Castiel said “Are you going to work today?”  
“Yeah,” Dean said “I have some paperwork to finish up. How about you?”  
“I have a throbbing head Dean. I haven’t had a hangover in years,” Castiel explained to his roommate “I think I’ll take the day off,”

Castiel watched Dean drive off in his Chevy Impala. Castiel had heard Dean’s fear and anger about the 48 hour mark. Just because Castiel Novak wasn’t going to work, didn’t mean that Angel could take the day off. Castiel got undress from yesterday’s suit and tie and got into what he had dubbed his super suit. While Impala wore what Castiel had surmised was black spandex under a leather jacket with work boots, Angel wore black suit pants, a blue dress shirt and a beige trench coat with sensible shoes. The trench coat and shirts had slits cut in them for Castiel’s wings to poke through. When Castiel had first started out, he had noticed that he could go to sleep his suit in tatters and wake up with the suit looking brand new. Castiel was glad that he wouldn't have to buy a new shirt and coat every other day. Now that would be even harder to explain than the cuts and bruises. Tying the trench coat belt around his waist, Castiel exited his apartment. After checking that the door was locked, he made his way to the rooftop. It was the best option with day still alive. He only had to climb three stairs to get to the roof. Castiel just hoped that he didn’t bump into any of the other apartment block occupants. He ended up meeting his neighbours coming back from holiday and the cat lady from floor ten. His neighbours didn’t want any help but the cat lady did. Her cat, Mittens Senior, had gone missing and she was looking for him. Castiel couldn’t help himself. He loved cats and Mittens Senior had often wondered into his path. Together with Cat Lady Margaret, Castiel wasted fifteen minutes on the wrong search. With Mittens Senior back in Cat Lady Margaret, Castiel returned to his original mission - getting to the roof. 

Castiel spread his wings. There was the usual rush of freedom and a sense of purpose as he did so. Before taking to the skies, Castiel stretched his wings. The midnight black feathers always felt a little cramped after being kept out of sight for long periods of time. While in the process of doing so, Castiel surveyed the city skyline. He rarely got to see it. Usually because he went out in the dark and left through his window. It was beautiful.  
“It would have been nice to have a sunset,” Castiel muttered, sliding a blue mask over his face. He gave his wings an experimental flap. A gust of cool wind made his coat flutter. Angel pushed off the roof and flapped his mighty wings. His first stop was the police station.

“I wish to speak to the detective in charge of the Jackson and Millison case,” Castiel demanded as he walked into Lenoir City Police Department. His black wings were folded against his body.   
“Of c-c-course,” The policeman on the front desk stuttered “F-first door on the right. Detective Wisner. I’ll let him know,” He pointed to the corridor to Castiel’s left.  
“Thank you,” Castiel said. He didn’t need to be told twice. A white door, very similar to his brother’s, with a bronze plaque opened before Castiel could even knock on it.  
“Angel, please come in,” Detective Wisner spoke. Castiel entered the office and noticed a wall full of framed certificates, newspaper articles and other achievements.  
“The lieutenant told me you wish to talk about the Jackson and Millison case,” Detective Wisner inquired “Why would you want to talk about that? I thought that stopping Impala was your job,”  
“Why is none of your business Detective,” Castiel glared “I just wish to pass on some information and help look for the missing journalist and her friend,”  
“Well we definitely need any help we can get Angel,” Detective Wisner amended “There has been no ransom notes and our only suspect is clean. There is no evidence of Miss Jackson and Mr Milligan even leaving the building let alone their apartment,”  
“My sources have told me that the pair are likely to found in one of the many industrial sized warehouses here in Lenoir City that are believably owned by the government,” Castiel told Wisner.   
“There must be thousands of those in the city,” Wisner exclaimed. Castiel refrained himself from saying ‘That’s what I said!’  
“Well it’s quite possibly being rented out by someone,” Castiel added “I would have looked into this information myself but I do not have the means to access registries,”  
“Which is why you came to us,” Detective Wisner realised “As a detective I can access these registries,”  
“Well what are you waiting for? The 48 hour mark is coming closer and we both know that once that comes, we will have next to no chance of finding the missing journalist and roommate,” Castiel said. Detective Wisner obeyed and started tapping away at his keyboard.  
“There is 75 industrial sized, government owned warehouses in Lenoir City,” Detective Wisner said “But this one catches my eyes,” Castiel went behind the desk and looked at the screen. The name Fergus MacLeod was written next the words ‘currently rented by’.   
“Isn’t that…” Castiel trailed off  
“Yes. The Hell Mob boss, Crowley’s real name,” Detective Wisner confirmed “At least that’s what we all think away. We can’t get charges to stick to Fergus at all,”  
“Give me the address - I’ll check it out,” Castiel instructed.  
“It's a hare brained idea to go by yourself. The bullets will turn you into swiss cheese,”  
“I don't get hurt by bullets and I heal fast,” Castiel told a truth and a lie “I’ll go check out the warehouse and if Miss Jackson and Mr Milligan are there, I’ll call you,”  
“You should go with backup,” Detective Wisner insisted “Whenever we go looking for Crowley, his men tear ours into shreds,”  
“I’m no ordinary man Detective Wisner. If I find Miss Jackson and Mr Milligan I will call you. And you said it yourself - your men get torn to shreds when you go looking for him,” Sighing, Detective Wisner reluctantly wrote down the address and his phone number.  
“When, if, you find them do not hesitate to call me. I’ll have some men on stand by,” Wisner said, looking Castiel straight in his eyes as he handed over the piece of paper,”   
“I won’t Detective,” Castiel firmly said. With that, Castiel left the building and took to the skies.

Castiel remembered a time when he had to bring a map with him to make sure he was going in the right direction. The streets looked like another world when one looked at them from above at night. It had taken him seven months to memorise the entire map of Lenoir City. And another two to get used to the streets at night. Now Castiel could bring up the fastest route to any street in a matter of seconds. He had gotten used to the sights of the night streets so the trip to 345 Marine Parade was no sweat. Trying to get in was another story. After five minutes of sitting opposite the warehouse, Castiel had already spotted several men that periodically walked around the warehouse. Castiel assumed that they were Crowley’s men. There was no windows so that meant that Castiel would have no choice but to go inside. Whether Detective Wisner liked it or not. Castiel timed how long it took for one guard to disappear and the next to appear. It wasn’t that long. But Castiel knew that he could make it to the warehouse roof. Getting was the problem. His lightning was always bright and he still hadn't been able to control it enough to create tiny bolts from his fingertips. He had nothing on him that could break the any possible locks and chains. In fact, Castiel was sure that there was no point of entry over than the sky light that all industrial warehouses had. If Castiel wanted to see if this truly was the place where his friends were being held, he would have to break in. Castiel remembered Detective Wisner’s request.   
“Well I haven’t found them,” Castiel muttered “No need to call him yet,” The fifth guard disappeared from sight and Castiel pushed himself into the air. The sixth guard had come into seat and Castiel’s raven wings covered his body. If you didn't know where to look or what to look for, you would not be able to spot the winged defender. Castiel only had one shot at this and he had to make it count. Avery and Adam were counting on him. Not that they knew that. Using the timing that he had already found out, Castiel waited. Guard Six would have disappeared by now and Guard Seven would be coming any second now. Castiel summoned his lightning. The lightning hit the window and broke the class completely. Castiel dropped down to ground floor; his wings breaking his fall. He looked around. All he could see was two people, tied to chairs with their backs to him.  
“You aren’t the super powered man I was hoping for,” A gruff, British voice said “Not one bit. I was expecting your rival in fact,” A short, round man came out of the shadows. Castiel immediately recognized him as Fergus MacLeod.  
“So the detective was right. You really are the Hell Mob head honco,” Castiel stated.  
“Detective Wisner has never been able to make those charges stick Angel,” Fergus said “But yes I am the infamous Crowley. And I’ve just found out that you have a common weakness with my dear friend Impala,”   
“Let them go. They have done nothing to you,” Castiel demanded. Fergus dramatically thought about it.  
“No. I need these two for leverage,” Fergus smirked “D-Impala will be motivated to do as I ask if I have his adopted sister and her boyfriend,”  
“He said let them go,” A third voice said “Let them go now Crowley,”  
“Hello Impala,” Fergus said, not turning around “Come to save your friends?”  
“Well you did say all I had to find them,” Impala told Crowley “Now let them go,”  
“Like I said - you have to work for them,”  
“I tracked them down!”  
“Actually I did,” Castiel spoke up “I didn’t see you outside before,”  
“I can travel through shadows. I could have been here before you,”  
“I would have sense you,”  
“Boys, boys - it seems that you came to fight me but ended up fighting each other,” Fergus called out.   
“Shut up Crowley,” Impala snarled. Fergus smirked.  
“There’s that fighting spirit. Now go, do your job and I’ll think about letting the girl and her boyfriend go,” And with that, Fergus turned heel and walked straight out of the warehouse.  
“You always have to ruin everything Angel,” Impala huffed “All I have to do is what Crowley tells me to and some day I’ll be free of this curse. But you keep up showing up and fighting me and that just adds time to my sentence,” Impala drew a small dagger out of nothing. The dagger started glowing. Castiel knew what was coming.  
“I don’t want to fight you,” Angel said, backing away slowly “I just want to rescue these civilians as much as you do,”  
“Why did you even come looking? Did Crowley message you too?” Impala threw the dagger. Castiel dodge. This was usually where Castiel would throw a bolt of lightning at his opponent. But Castiel felt that being diplomatic in this situation was best.   
“Crowley, as you call him, did not message me.I just happen to feel that these civilians needed to be saved,”  
“Crowley said that you had a common weakness with me. Therefore you must know Miss Jackson and Mr Milligan personally. And I know for a fact that Miss Jackson has never been one for making more friends then she needs to,”  
“Well if we share a common weakness surely we should work together to keep our weakness out of Crowley’s reach,” Angel said.  
“Maybe you’re right. But how do you propose to do so?”  
“I have Detective Wisner, the lead on this case, waiting for a call from me. I could call him to collect our weakness and then we can brawl in peace,”  
“Sounds like a good plan coming from you,” Impala agreed. Castiel fished around his coat pocket and brought out the burner phone he used as Angel. He called Detective Wisner.

Within thirty minutes, Detective Wisner and an ambulance had arrived. Avery and Adam were loaded on. Detective Wisner took one look at Impala and Angel and left, muttering something about a cat stuck in a tree. Impala initiated the small brawl. Needless to say that particular fight lasted an hour.

When Castiel arrived home, he saw the answer phone was loaded with messages. Five from Dean, ten from Gabriel and several from Bobby. He knew what they were about but listened to them while he stitched up a few cuts. Changing out of his uniform and into his regular outfit, Castiel left Apartment 401 and headed for the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter and I was sooo hyped about writing it when I was on chapter 4. Basically some family time

Dean staggered through the hospital corridor. His left leg had been hit by Angel’s lightning and had yet to recover from the effects. Dean hadn’t even bothered to stop by his apartment when he got the call from Bobby about which hospital Avery and Adam were in. He had gone to reception and the receptionist, who had been expect him, gave him directions to the room where the two 24 year olds were being held overnight. Dean had stopped a few times to get directions from various doctors and nurses. He knew he was on the right path when he saw Gabriel leaning against the wall. Gabriel looked up and all Dean saw was the deep fury. He remembered it from his own father’s eyes.  
“Just the person I was wishing to talk to,” Gabriel said “Shall we go outside? I don’t want to cause a fuss,” Dean nodded, not quite sure what Gabriel wanted. He’d only met the guy once and even then it was for a short time. The two men walked out of the hospital and into a small alley way. Gabriel must have wanted to make this conversation very private. Dean started to become worried. Gabriel was a very powerful person and he was also Cas’s older brother. Gabriel stopped walking and turned to face Dean.   
“I know who you are Dean Winchester,” He proclaimed “And I know you’re the reason why Avery and Adam were kidnapped,”  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dean feigned innocence.  
“Don’t play dumb with me Winchester,” Gabriel scowled “You don’t become head of the press without figuring out some secret identities,”  
“Gabriel, I don’t know what you’re getting at here,”  
“I know you’re Impala,” Those four words shut Dean down “And I should have told the police as soon as I knew,”  
“Then why didn’t you?” Dean asked “I’ve done some pretty bad things,”  
“Castiel,” Gabriel said “Our family has never really been all that close since we figured out a few things but Castiel is my little brother and I don’t want to come into work everyday and see hatred from him,”  
“Believe me, you should have put me behind bars because it would have been a lot safer in this city,”  
“You think I don’t know that?” Gabriel said “And believe me when I say that I will put you behind bars if you go anywhere near Avery and Adam or cause them any more harm,”  
“You’re asking me to stay away from someone who is practically my cousin - my family?” Dean said “I can’t promise that I won’t go near her or Adam because I will have to go near them and I sure as hell cannot promise that they won’t come to harm because of me. I had a hard enough time trying to keep Avery out of the way. Do you know how many photo’s I’ve put on memory sticks and wiped completely from her laptop so that she couldn’t be harmed?” Gabriel had the politeness to look shocked “I would wish nothing more to keep her and Adam and my brother and Bobby and Cas out of my problem,”  
“Your problem….”  
“Don’t start accusing someone if you don’t know the whole story,” Dean straightened his leather jacket “Now if you excuse me, I have some people in hospital to see,” Dean turned and walked out the alleyway. Gabriel was left dumbfounded.

Dean opened the hospital room’s door to see Bobby, Avery, Adam and a woman who he assumed would be Adam’s mum.  
“What took you so long boy?” Bobby asked, pulling Dean into a hug.  
“Just talking,” Dean replied. He looked over to Avery. The brown haired girl was awake and smiled.  
“Hey Dean,” She said.  
“Hey Avery,” Dean smiled “How are you feeling?”  
“Less thirsty than I was,” Avery replied “And I have a concussion. Adam got it worse than me though,”  
“That’s because I don’t know how to do those moves you used,” Adam laughed “Where did you learn them anyway?”  
“I taught her some ways to protect herself,” Dean admitted “Back when she was still in high school but from the looks of your apartment, you’ve learnt more than that,”  
“Self defence course at College,” Avery said “Adam didn’t take it,”  
“Nice,”  
“Hey Dean?” Adam asked “Where’s Cas? I thought he’d be here,”  
“I only got the answer machine,” Dean replied “He’s probably sleeping his headache off,”  
“You left five voice messages didn’t you?” Avery guessed “You used to do that with me and Sam,”  
“I might have,” Dean laughed “Did I really do that?”  
“Gosh yes,” Adam piped up “I’d walk into our flat and Avery would just be sitting on the couch. Then her phone will ring. And she’ll say ‘Don’t touch it. Let Dean ring five times,”  
“I remember that!” Avery exclaimed “And then after it started ringing again you just picked it up and said ‘Avery cannot come to the phone at this time, please stop ringing her,”  
“I legitimately thought that was your voice mail,” Dean said “And now years later I find out that it was your best friend,” Everyone started laughing. And then Cas entered the room.  
“I don’t understand what is going on?” Cas asked.  
“Just reliving some college memories,” Adam replied “Mum, this Castiel Novak, Avery’s partner at work and Gabriel’s brother. Cas this is my mum,” The woman who was tending to Adam turned around.  
“Nice to meet you Mrs Milligan,” Cas held out a hand. Adam’s Mum shook it.  
“It’s Kate. You can call me Kate,” Kate said “And you’re the Dean I’ve heard so much about from Avery and Bobby,” Kate turned to Dean.  
“I hope you haven’t heard anything bad,” Dean smiled. Kate laughed.  
“Nothing too bad,” There was a knocking sound. A nurse appeared.  
“Just letting you know that visiting hours are nearly over,” She said politely “Mr Milligan needs his rest and Miss Jackson has to go for a few more tests before she too can rest,”  
“Okay, Thank You,” Bobby said “We’ll be back tomorrow morning to get you,” He kissed his niece on her forehead.  
“Okay Uncle Bobby,” Avery said.  
“Goodnight my baby boy,” Kate kissed her son on his forehead.  
“Mum!!!!” Adam complained. Avery started giggling.  
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Castiel said, walking out of the room. Avery had no time to yell goodbye as Dean almost crushed her in a hug. Adam did the yelling for her.  
“I’m sorry,” Dean whispered in Avery’s ear. Avery felt a single man tear slid from Dean’s eye and onto her shoulder.  
“It’s not your fault Dean. You can’t help it if I get kidnapped while you’re sleeping,” Avery whispered back. Dean weakly smiled.  
“When you’re ready for work, I’ll drive you okay,” Dean promised.  
“Fine,” Avery rolled her eyes. Dean left the room. If only Avery knew how wrong she was. And how truly sorry Dean was that she knew him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday Sam!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you guys know that Sam is still alive in this fic. I mean, I wouldn't have added Sam in the characters list if he didn't show up at least once here. And you guys are getting this early because of Fanfiction Writer's Apprecation Day.

The months and seasons changed quickly and soon it was May 1st. Castiel watched as Dean practically rushed around their apartment, looking for different things. Castiel knew that it was Dean’s brother’s birthday the next day and that he was going to Bobby’s house for dinner to celebrate. It was the usual sight when Dean got ready for birthday dinners.   
“Hey Cas?” Dean asked from his room “Where’s my ACDC shirt?” Castiel rolled his eyes.  
“Where you left them two weeks ago - at the bottom of your pile of washing,”  
“Not that ACDC shirt, the one you got me for christmas,”  
“I put it in the drier this morning,” Dean rushed past Castiel and into the laundry room.  
“It’s still got five more minutes,” Dean complained.  
“Slow down Dean. You don’t need to be on the road for another hour,” Castiel attempted to calm down his roommate “You do remember how to breathe right?” Dean stopped in his tracks. He frowned. Something had to be wrong.  
“Didn’t I tell you Bobby invited you as well?”  
“No,”  
“Well you’re invited,”  
“You could have told me sooner!” Castiel complained “Now I have to pack!” Dean started laughing.  
“Now look who’s forgotten to breathe,”

Dean and Castiel arrived the same time as Avery and Adam. In fact Avery and Dean had to get out of their cars and play paper scissors rock to see who got to go into the driveway first. Avery had won so she drove her Swift and parked next to Sam’s Dodge Charger. Dean in turn parked next to Avery. Sam and his girlfriend, Jessica Moore, came out to greet them. Dean and Jessica hugged before Dean turned to Castiel.  
“Cas this is Jessica Moore, Sam’s girlfriend. Jess, this is Castiel Novak, my roommate,”  
“Nice to meet you Jessica,” Castiel said as the two of them shook hands.  
“Likewise Castiel,” Jessica smiled from ear to ear. Bobby Singer exited his house.  
“You idjits come inside before our dinner goes cold,” Adam and Dean ran straight for the door. Avery and Jessica laughed and followed the two grown boys inside. Castiel grabbed his bag and Dean’s before even attempting to go inside. He got the door before Sam, who stood four inches over him, took the bags.  
“You’re a guest Castiel and Dean should have better manners,”  
“Dean’s manners take a holiday when food is ready,” Sam laughed heartily.  
“That they do,” Sam agreed “Come on in Castiel. We don’t want to keep Bobby and the others waiting,”

Apparently the dinner was an ‘All Hands on Deck’ situation at the Singer residence. Everyone but Sam pitched in. Bobby, Dean and Avery all made a point of Sam taking the weight off his feet by threatening to lock him in the cellar if he even tried to help. Avery and Adam set the table; “The knife is like a small sword so it goes on the right side since most people are right handed and sword masters usually use their right hand,” Avery kept reminding Adam as he constantly placed the knives on the left hand side. Jessica and Bobby filled each plate with mixed vegetables, mash potato and pieces of meat. Dean was on drink duty; he brought out four beers, a bottle of wine and a bottle of whisky from the fridge and placed seven glasses around the table. It had fallen to Castiel to make the salad. Lettuce and tomato had been cut and carrot had be grated. Cheese had been sliced and it was up to Castiel to make the best salad Sam had ever tasted. Luckily, Castiel’s rather large family had come with various eating plans so he was well equipped to salad making. Using the salad claws, he mixed all the vegetables in with the cheese before adding the salad dressing Bobby had prepared earlier. Plates were brought to the table and dishes for seconds sat in the middle. Dean poured everyone some wine and soon everyone seated at the table. To Castiel’s left sat Dean and to the right sat Avery. Sam and Bobby sat at either ends of the table with Jessica and Adam sitting on the opposite side. Quiet chatter came from everyone - Jessica’s concern for Avery and Adam after their kidnapping ordeal was defiantly one of the main topics. Castiel just kept on eating. Suddenly, Dean stood up and tapped his wine glass. Everyone stopped talking.  
“I’d like to call a toast. A toast for my baby brother who turns 27 tomorrow and one of the best lawyers in the county,” He said, raising his glass. Everyone clinked glasses. Dean sat down. He gave Sam a smile while Sam gave Dean, what Castiel assumed was, a bitch face. That just made Dean smile more  
“I’ve got one,” Avery said standing up “A toast for living another year. For soldering through rough patches,” Once again everyone clinked glasses. Bobby called for a toast for the safety of his niece, boys and their friends while Adam called a toast for returning home with only a broken arm. Castiel himself got up and said thanks for the good food and company. Then Sam got up. Unlike everyone else, he dropped to one knee and faced Jessica. Avery squealed with delight. She knew what was happening. Bobby and Dean had big smiles on their faces.  
“Jessica Lee Moore, I have loved you since college and now I ask you to take the next step. Will you marry me?” Jessica squealed and hugged her now fiance.  
“Yes I will marry you!” Sam slipped the ring onto Jess’s finger. Avery snapped a few photos on her phone of the happy moment. Dean hugged his little brother tightly.  
“You’ll be my best man right?” Sam asked.  
“Of course, Sammy,” Dean replied “I’m proud of you,” Castiel congratulated the happy couple. The rest of the dinner was forgotten and left to go cold. Not that anyone cared. Here were two young people who were in love and Castiel felt a pain in his heart. He wanted something like this. Maybe some day.

“It’s family tradition to open presents before we watch a movie,” Avery whispered to Castiel when he asked what was happening “I think it had something to do with the fact that all three of us needed to be absolutely exhausted to get a good night’s sleep,” The group, bar Bobby, all sat on the ground in a circle as Sam opened his gifts.  
“I didn’t get Sam a gift,”  
“Something tells me that Dean forgot to tell you about the party,”  
“He told me this morning,”  
“Look, just ride on my gift,”  
“That would be unfair on you,”  
“Dude, I don’t care,”  
“Fine,” Sam opened up the gift from Dean. He pulled out an old hardcover book.  
“It was Mum’s favourite,” Dean explained. Sam hugged Dean. Castiel smiled at the brotherly love. He knew that Sam had never known Mary and that Dean had very few childhood memories of her.  
“Thank you all for coming,” Sam said.  
“Can we watch the movie now?” Avery asked. Sam laughed.  
“Yeah,” He agreed “We have the first Thor or The Blind Side,”  
“We have to watch Thor,” Dean said, elbowing Castiel “This guy has only seen the three Captain America movies,”  
“What!” Sam was appalled “We are watching Thor,”  
“I always liked The Blind Side,” Jessica said  
“Let’s put it to a vote then. We’re a democratic country after all,” Adam suggested “All those in favor of Thor raise your hand,” Castiel noticed Dean’s, Avery’s and Sam’s hands shot up in the air straight away. Castiel too put his hand up. He’d seen The Blind Side a few times.  
“All in favour of The Blind Side?” Adam and Jessica raised their hands.  
“We win four two,” Avery said “Now you lovebirds move so I can put the DVD in,” Sam and Jessica relocated from the floor to the couch.  
“Any funny business you two and we kick you out,” Dean said. Sam rolled his eyes.  
“That goes for Avery and Adam too,”  
“We’re not even in a relationship,” Adam pointed out “That shouldn’t apply to us,”  
“Then if you and Cas get up to any ‘Funny Business’ you should be kicked out too,” Avery stood her ground “Equal Rights,”  
“Just put the movie on already,” Dean said “And stop making this the frickin’ senate,” Adam laughed.   
“Just shut up already and I maybe I might,” Avery retorted, turning the TV on. 

Sam and Jessica had fallen asleep in each other’s arms halfway through the movie and Adam was out cold by the time Thor got his godly powers back. Castiel himself was nearly drifting away. Bobby had left the property before the movie had even started and had yet to return. Avery and Dean seemed to be the only ones still wide awake so they quickly snapped pictures of the resting couple and sleeping beauty for future needs before Avery picked Adam up in a fireman’s lift and Dean gently woke Sam and Jessica. Sam and Jessica wrapped their arms around each other’s back before making their way upstairs after Avery.  
“Where would you like me to sleep?” Castiel asked.  
“Sorry, we should have sorted this out earlier,” Dean apologized “Bobby’s guest room is currently being used by boxes from various moving ins and outs by us. Sam and Jess are probably using Sam’s old room while Avery and Adam have always used Avery’s room when they visit. So they only choice is my old room. It’s big enough for two but if it makes you feel uncomfortable, I can take up the couch for the night,”  
“I will be fine to share a bed with you Dean,” Castiel said “I don’t think you’ll enjoy sleeping on the couch,” Dean laughed.  
“Still haven’t recovered from from the last time I did,” He told Castiel “Come on, I’ll show you where young Dean plotted and studied,” Castiel followed Dean up the stairs. Castiel saw Avery leave one room wearing a singlet and pajama pants and entered another before closing the door. Dean pointed to the door Avery had come out of,  
“Bathroom, toilet and shower are all through that door,” Castiel nodded “The room opposite is Sam’s and mine’s down the end,” Dean opened the last door on the right and flipped a light switch. A beige room greeted the light like an old friend. There was a shelf with a few awards on top above a desk which was cluttered by old school books and other things. The double bed was clothed with light cream sheets and a white cover.  
“Welcome to my old place,” Dean muttered “Feel free to look around. I’ll just go grab your stuff,” Dean left and Castiel was alone. Dean’s childhood room was a book of secrets which Castiel wasn’t sure if he wanted to read just yet. Dean shortly returned and the two men got ready to fall asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Or in other words - history loves to repeat some songs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to deticate this chapter to my two friends Alyssa and Te Aurahi. Alyssa especially as I've had this chapter ready for a whole week and I've been talking about it. You two are amazing people and you are strong. I hope that this chapter is good enough.

Only Dean couldn’t sleep. He was sharing a bed with his best friend, his roommate. Of course the natural response was ‘oh my gosh, I’m sharing a bed with someone who is the same gender as me and is gay, I am freaking out here’ but Dean also had a reaction of ‘I’m sharing my old bed with a friend who is a guy and I like it’ It was an odd mixture. Dean was no stranger to sharing a bed. As a child, before his father had died in the accident, he would share a crappy motel bed with Sam to protect them incase their father was exceptionally drunk. He did it out of protection. And then there were the few hundred women he’d had one night stands with. Having sex was not trust in Dean Winchester’s book - sleeping next to someone time and time again was. Closing your eyes in the night and waking up in the morning with the same person day after day after day was the type of trust Dean craved. Maybe one day he would find someone he trusted enough to do that with. He just had to find the right person. Like Sam had. Like Avery probably had. Dean rolled over and looked at his old alarm clock. The red numbers told him it was still only one in the morning. Dean sighed and got out of the bed. Castiel stirred but kept on sleeping. Dean walked downstairs to grab a beer. There was no way he was going back to sleep.

Dean didn’t know what time it was when the porch light was turned on. He turned around and saw Avery standing in the front door.  
“You know, I’m the one who’s meant to be sitting on the steps not the person tell you to go back to sleep,”  
“It’s not my fault you had jetlag for months,” Dean muttered.  
“Actually it is because you didn’t drag me back to bed that night we first meet,” Avery sat down next to Dean “Now what’s your damn problem?”  
“Couldn’t sleep,”  
“Couldn't sleep as in ‘I actually cannot fall asleep’ or ‘I can’t fall asleep because if I do I might end up liking it,”  
“The first one,”  
“Wrong,”  
“I’ve never shared a bed before,”  
“You’ve had more sexy time than me and Adam combined and I know for a fact that you would sleep with Sam back when you lived with your dad,” Avery depanned “You’ve shared a bed before,” Dean took another sip of his beer. What was he going to say? He really did not want a bombardment of questions this early in the morning.  
“It’s because you’re sharing a bed with Cas isn’t?”  
“He’s my best friend. It’s kinda awkward,” Dean complained.  
“Dude. I’m sharing a bed with my best friend. And we’re both straight as far as I know,” Avery replied “My sleeping situation is awkward - you’re sharing a bed with a guy. That is not awkward. I should know. One summer I shared a bed with my best friend for three days because boys outnumbered the girls,”  
“I’m fine with sharing my bed. It’s just that…” Dean stopped. Avery rolled her eyes.  
“Sleeping together without sex is the way you determine trust,” Avery said.  
“That’s not my point. I’m afraid that I’ll wake in the morning and find that I enjoy sleeping and waking up with him next to me,”  
“Dean,” Avery took Dean’s shoulder “It’s okay to feel that way,”  
“How would you know?”  
“Because before I moved here, I had two amazing best friends. One was a gay male. The other was a bisexual female. They both came out to me a few years into our friendship and at first it was a tiny bit awkward but they were the same people I’d meet walking to the same classroom on the first day of the school year. Being a member of the LGBTQ+ community doesn’t change you. If you came out to me right now I’d still see the 19 year old who sat beside me and gave me the best advice I could have heard at the lowest point in my life. I’d still see the guy who became my cousin and graduated from Denver and became the finest mechanic I know. I’d still see Dean Winchester, the guy who cared for his younger brother, the loyal son even though his father didn’t deserve him and the person I’ve looked up to for years,”  
“But I like girls,”  
“What did your teachers teach you at school? Bi means two. Bisexual means two sexes. It means that you like two sexes,” Avery sighed “Or you could be bi curious but I’m no expert in this sort of thing,” Dean raised an eyebrow.  
“You went through the same school I did - so how do you know about this?”  
“I was in a New Zealand school first and quite frankly we talked a lot more about people rather than sex in Sex Ed. That and I may have read a lot on the internet about this sort of thing,”   
“Okay, so theoretically speaking, if I was bisexual or whatever it was you said, I could like both genders and that would be okay?”  
“Yes. And you could always lean towards one gender more than the other. So for example you could like both guys and girls but you could possibly like girls a tiny bit more than the guys,” Avery answered “Now let’s go back to our beds because we’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow,” Dean laughed.  
“Okay,” He agreed “Thanks. Thanks for the talk,”  
“Just doing what you did for me,” Avery said.

It was after lunch when Dean left with Cas in the Impala. Sam and Jessica had gone back to their apartment in the early morning, probably to gloat. Adam and Avery were planning to leave before dinner so that they could spend some more time with Bobby. At least that’s what Avery had said; all Dean heard was ‘I’m going to show my friend around what can be called my hometown’. Dean would have loved to stay longer but both he and Castiel had a few errands they needed to do before they went back to work. The Impala was racing down the road that connected Sioux Falls with Lenoir City when it happened. Dean saw his left hand start to turn black. This had happened before. He knew what was coming next. His hand would turn intangible and Dean could quite possibly lose control of the car. Something that he didn’t want to do. But what was he supposed to do? If he pulled over and asked Cas to drive, Dean knew that Cas would suspect something. The only thing Dean could think of was that line from Frozen. Conceal, don’t feel. He’d always regretted watching that movie but now Dean was glad that he had watched it.  
“Just ignore it, it will go away,” He muttered under this breath.  
“What was that Dean?” Cas asked, looking up from his book.  
“Nothing,” Dean quickly replied “Just thinking out loud,” Cas took a second to look worried before going back to the pages of whatever novel he was reading now. Dean was glad that Cas hadn’t pushed it any further. Focusing back on the road, Dean reaffirmed his grip on the wheel. Or at least he tried to. His hands had gone through the steering wheel. Just like they had in previous times. Dean tried again and this it worked. The short moment of fear had passed and Castiel was none the wiser. If it had been on a windy gravel road, it surely would have ended in a disaster.  
“I really need to get a grip on this,” Dean muttered. Cas did not look up this time.


End file.
